The present inventive subject matter relates to an apparatus for recovering flexible hose for conveying liquid, such as fire hose.
It is well known in the field of fire fighting that long portions of flexible fire hose are difficult to recover and replace into the fire engine bed after the fire is extinguished. Flexible hoses of this type are made up of sections which are provided with hose couplings at both ends. The couplings are made of metal and cannot be compressed like the hose itself. In typical day-to-day practice, several firefighters are necessary to recover and replace the hose, depending on the weight and length of the hose. A team of firefighters would either manually roll or fold up the flexible hose for storage on the fire engine. Such burdensome practice could take the firefighters many hours, and sometimes days, to complete.
Information relevant to attempts to address the above-referenced problems can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,957 to Fleming (2003), U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,991 to Johnson (1978), U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,135 to Hayes (1984), U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,901 to Wilder (1996), U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,509 to Noggle (1993), U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,964 to Zinser (1976), U.S. Pat. No. 2,960,279 to Little (1960), U.S. Pat. No. 2,396,451 to Warkentin (1945), U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,010 to Knapp (1980), and U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,321 Rylott et al. (1964), European Patent No. 0631796 to Kuilken (1997) and German Patent No. 4214925 to Botmann (1993).
However, each one of these references suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages:
                1. Inability to recover large quantities of hose without expending substantial effort, time and manpower;        2. Inability to compactly recover hose fitted with hose couplings;        3. Disassembly of the apparatus to remove the wound hose;        4. Utilization of complex and unreliable pulley and sensing units;        5. Expensive to purchase;        6. Expensive to maintain;        7. Collection of hose in a confined area within the apparatus;        8. Utilization of complex mechanical belting mechanisms;        9. Risk associated with couplings getting stuck in the apparatus;        10. Operational belts being flung off the apparatus;        11. Debris being thrown off the hose by the apparatus causing damage or injury;        12. The apparatus lacks adjustability.        
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a hose recovery system that facilitates the economical and efficient collection of significant amounts of coupled fire hose using a relatively inexpensive apparatus that is easy to maintain, adjustable and can be operated by a single operator.